voljeti

Voljeti is a verb used in Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian to express love or strong affection. It covers romantic love as well as general fondness for people, animals, activities, or things. The sense ranges from liking something a lot to deeply loving someone. In standard usage it takes a direct object in the accusative: Volim te (I love you); volimo pse (we love dogs). It is distinct from ljubiti, which means to kiss, and from obožavati, which means to adore. In some dialects and registers, the cognate voleti is common, especially in Serbian; Croatian typically uses voljeti, though both forms are understood across the region.

Conjugation and usage: Present tense forms are volim, voliš, voli, volimo, volite, vole. Past tense is formed with the auxiliary biti and the participle: volio sam / voljela sam / voljelo je; volili smo / voljele smo. Future is expressed with voljet ću, voljet ćeš, voljet će, voljet ćemo, voljet ćete, voljet će. The conditional or “would love” is volio bih / voljela bih. Imperatives are voli! volite!, used to address someone directly; negative imperatives use ne volite (do not love).

Etymology and regional notes: voljeti derives from a Proto-Slavic root related to will and desire, framing love as a strong, volitional feeling. The form voleti appears in some dialects and neighboring languages, reflecting regional variation in spelling and pronunciation. Related terms include obožavati (to adore) and volja (will, wish).

Examples: Volim svoju obitelj. Voliš li kino? Voljet ću da idem s vama. Voljeli bismo posjetiti more.